Wesley’s a wonder

HE’S OUT TO SCORE 20

WESLEY has vowed to fire 20 Premier League goals to fuel his dream of breaking into the Brazil squad.

Aston Villa’s £22m record signing took his top-flight tally to four in eight games with a brace in last Saturday’s 5-1 win at Norwich, despite missing a penalty.

The hotshot, signed from Bruges in the summer, has now revealed his ambitious target for his first season in England.

Wesley said: “I want 20 goals. It’s my goal and I’m going to achieve it.

“I have three dreams. One was to play in the Premier League, the second is to go to the national team and the other is to play in the World Cup.

“When I was offered the chance to come to Aston Villa, I didn’t think twice. I’m playing in one of the best leagues in the world. It’s about having a good season and maybe I have a chance at the national team.”

Wesley’s Norwich double followed a poor display at home to Burnley in which the striker was subbed, before later admitting to boss Dean Smith that his display was not up to scratch. Villa team-mate Conor Hourihane said: “Maybe that bit of criticism he heard geared him up.

“He is vocal, learning English and is a good lad.

“We are only eight games into the season and now all of a sudden he has four goals in eight games, which isn’t too bad.

“He always has a smile on his face. He is strong as an ox and has that bit of old school striker about him in training.”

The latest figures for the club show that Villa’s billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have injected a further £57m via a share issue.

They duo have now pumped in more than £250m since they took control of the club from Dr Tony Xia last summer.

The latest sum is needed to pay off the final transfer of shares from Xia to the new owners.

That signals the end of Xia’s hapless reign after the Chinese businessman gambled on promotion, and failed.